


Dead but Not Gone

by deviant_SnK_Kira



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Alternate Universe - Zombies, Apocalypse, F/F, F/M, Gen, M/M, Multi, Nobody is Safe, Reader-Insert, Tumblr User SnK-Kira, Tumblr for Bonus Content, Will add tags as I update, Zombie Apocalypse, everybody could die, reader swears a lot, some characters will be zombified in later chapters, the 104th cadets are older in this world
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-04-28 01:10:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,470
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14438220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deviant_SnK_Kira/pseuds/deviant_SnK_Kira
Summary: Will you survive the end? How many will you have to sacrifice in order to rebuild this cruel world?AKA, the story of you trying to maintain your sanity in the apocalypse with only a bunch of twenty year old brats, a crazy lady, a calculating genius, and a man that seems built for this new world as company.





	1. Day Zero

**Author's Note:**

> Want to see bonus content (including letters, mini scenes, and more)? Check it out [HERE](https://snk-kira.tumblr.com/)

Just another day at work, the endless line of people demanding overpriced coffee and glaring impatiently at everyone as if that would make the baristas move faster. You watched one person in particular, a tall brunette with long hair that stared at one of the baristas with rage-filled eyes. Recognizing him, you knew to keep an eye on the man as he was prone to lashing out at the staff without warning.

You spared a glance to the barista, hoping that he hadn’t noticed the man yet. The freckled barista turned just as you looked over, his shoulders tense as he clumsily grabbed at the cups sitting on the shelf above the espresso machine. 

Walking over, you placed one hand on the brunette’s shoulder, “deep breath. I won’t let him do anything to you.”

The boy sighed gratefully, “thanks, (f/n).”

“Just stay focused on the orders, Marco. I’ll keep an eye on Mr. Briar.” 

Marco nodded again, his shoulders relaxing as his nervousness started to ease away. 

James Briar was a regular here, but one that had scared off more than ten baristas in the last five months. He had a way of knowing just what to say to make a person cry and run for their mother. Infamous Briar...the one person that you really wanted to just disappear so life in the cafe would be simpler. No more having to be anxious waiting on him to attack, verbally and physically on the worse days. If the day ever came, it would be heaven on Earth.

Unfortunately, this was not heaven as James finally reached the counter and promptly told Marco that he was no good at his job and that you should really start looking for someone that can take over as manager too. 

Marco glanced around nervously, unsure of what to do. Apparently, he took your advice to heart as he just turned around to make the venti double espresso iced Americano.

“Good morning, Mr. Briar,” the man turned his glare to you, eyes narrowing slightly at the cheerful tone, “I see work is keeping you overly stressed already.”

“The hell would you know about it? Not like you do anything, but stand around like an idiot for ten minutes.”

One brow quirked upward in amusement, “I was just waiting on you to arrive. Sadly, your presence every morning means I have to start doing nothing instead of focusing on the mountain of paperwork in my office.”

“Unbelievable. You’re blaming me for not doing your job?”

Marco slowly sat the cup on the counter, obviously trying not to draw attention to himself. The man looked at you, his mouth opening and closing like a fish as he tried to think of something else to say. You smiled at him, silently daring him to continue, before he finally just grabbed his coffee angrily and stomped towards the door. 

Waiting a few minutes, you watched Marco regain his confidence behind the counter before returning to the back office. For the next hour, you busied yourself with the inventory lists, emails from various vendors and headquarters, and applications for new baristas. The mountain of paperwork was very slowly becoming a large hill when you heard yelling and the faint sound of Marco’s panicked voice.

Sighing, you dropped the pen to the desk irritably and walked back to the cafe’s seating area, then quickly froze in shock at the scene before you. Two men stood in the center of the room, one with his fist clenched around the collar of the other. The taller of the two looked surprised as the shorter man’s fist tightened, pulling him down slightly to be eye level. 

“You’ll fucking pay for that, asshole,” the shorter man practically snarled. 

Mentally slapping yourself, you finally stepped forward. Neither man noticed as you stepped beside Marco, “What happened?”

“They bumped into each other--”

“No, this asshole bumped into me with his scalding hot fucking coffee,” the shorter man turned, his fist dragging the other one with him slightly. A large coffee stain covered the stomach of his white dress shirt as his eyes locked with yours.

“I see. I’m sure it was accident, so for now let’s get you cleaned up. The longer that coffee stays there, the more likely it is to stain.”

The gray eyed man looked at the larger man again, then pushed him backwards, forcing him to land on his back at the sudden movement. Marco waited until the man stepped towards you to start helping the other one up. 

You waved the shorter man to follow as you headed to your office. After passing the main restrooms the man spoke up, “Where exactly are we going? I need to get this shit washed out.”

“I know. But if you were that upset about coffee stains, I also imagine you don’t want to use the public bathrooms to clean up.” You glanced over your shoulder at the man just in time to see him grimace slightly, “That’s what I thought. You can use the staff restrooms. Plus, I keep stain remover back here...someone’s always spilling coffee on themselves around here.”

Pushing open the office door, you walked over to a cabinet on the other side, quickly removing the stain remover and a spare shirt.

Handing them to the man, he started to turn then looked at the shirt oddly.

“It’s a former employee’s,” you chuckled slightly. “Should fit since he was about the same size as you. Either way, though, it’s better than walking around with a wet shirt on, right?”

He was quiet a minute, then started unbuttoning the dress shirt, “Thanks.”

“No problem,” you turned away as he reached the fourth button, which was not quick enough to miss the sight of pale skin and a clearly toned chest.

“You gonna stand there all day?”

“Hmm,” you blinked as his deep voice brought you back from daydreaming, “oh, yeah. I mean no...ugh, whatever. This way.”

Trying to ignore the smirk you noticed when you went for the door, you led him down the hallway. After reaching the staff restrooms, you waved him inside and returned to the office. Continuing your work, you didn’t even notice that nine hours had passed and that Marco had probably already left for the day. Stretching, you packed everything away; knowing that Marco had locked the money bag up in the safe, you opened the door to leave through the back, but found a note taped to the door.

You noticed the stain remover sitting on the floor as you pulled the paper from the door and opened it: _”Shirt was saved. Levi”_

Smiling you left the paper on the filing cabinet in the office, walked out the back door, and locked up. Late at night was a great time to head home on the bus, hardly anyone was ever out at this hour in Mitras, so you rested your head against the window tiredly as the bus bumped along the streets. 

Half an hour later, you unlocked the door to your apartment, tossing the keys onto the small table beside the door. Walking into the living room, you were surprised to find the couch occupied. Books were scattered all over the coffee table, every single one open with Post-it notes stuck to various paragraphs and sections highlighted in different colors. 

“Big test coming up?” you laughed as the blonde girl startled from where she sat bent over yet another textbook as she scribbled notes into a thick notebook.

She looked over, setting the notebook on top of the books, before asking sheepishly, “How long have you been there, (f/n)?”

“A few seconds. Just long enough to see all this,” you motioned at the chaos that was the table. 

Petra grinned tiredly, “Why did I decide to become a nurse again?”

“Because you want to save the world.” After counting the eight books she was studying from, you added, “one exam at a time.”

Petra just groaned. 

Leaving her to studying, you quickly showered and laid in bed listening to your favorite band. You heard Petra go to bed about an hour later, before finally drifting off. 

At just after 7am, you woke feeling even more tired than when you went to bed. _Another restless night...just what I needed._

Petra wouldn’t wake up for another couple of hours, so you decided to watch TV before you cooked breakfast. Normally you hated watching the news, especially first thing in the morning, preferring instead to keep your mood up by watching meaningless reality shows. Today, however, while flipping through channels, a breaking story kept appearing on every news station you passed. 

Deciding to see why eleven stations were covering the same thing, you expected a mass shooter or another big oil spill destroying the coast, anything except the mysterious virus experts were saying was ravaging the country. 

“...scientists are working together in an attempt to determine the nature of this virus. For now, experts recommend avoiding large events, carrying hand sanitizer, covering your mouth and nose if sick or in crowded areas, as well as visiting your local hospital or healthcare provider immediately if you feel flu-like symptoms. Stay tuned to MNC 6...”

“Are you sick?” Petra’s sleep-filled voice pulled your attention away from the TV, “You’re always watching (f/tv/show) when I wake up.”

“Morning, Pet,” you ignored her question as Petra grimaced slightly at the nickname, but chose to silently turn towards the kitchen for coffee. 

The blonde started hating the nickname ever since an ex-boyfriend had used it as he broke up with her. He even said she didn’t need him, because she was still Pet to you, as if you two were dating behind his back. Still, she had found the name endearing when you first started calling her that in college, and you’ll be damned if some jerk makes you stop now. 

As Petra poured coffee into two mugs, you started making pancakes. The blonde slide a mug to you as she leaned against the counter, quietly sipping the steaming coffee.

“So...explain.”

“Huh?” You turned to Petra, only to find her grinning mischievously. “You’re not still on that, are you?”

“Oh come on! You’re the one that said you got to see some guy’s chest without telling me how that happened...unless you didn’t really go to work…”

Laughing, you quickly flipped the pancakes over before meeting the eager brown eyes of your beloved roommate. “Not much to tell...someone spilled their coffee on him so I gave him a spare shirt to change into. And I wasn’t exactly expecting him to start changing right in front of me.”

“But you said he was hot...I thought you got a good look at him.”

“God, Petra...I saw him for not even five seconds.” Petra gave you a pointed look, “yeah, yeah...if that was enough to know he was ripped, I really need start dating again. We’ve been through this.”

“Did you at least get his name?” 

“What? No...er, well actually I guess I kind of did. He left a note before he left saying the shirt was saved...and he signed it Levi,” you explained as you piled the pancakes onto two plates.

“Levi?” 

Glancing at Petra, you noticed she had a grin forming again, “you said he was short? With black hair and an undercut...ice cold grey eyes?”

“Uh...yeah. You know him?”

“Seen him around campus. He’s always hanging around one of the girls in my class. You remember Hanji, right?”

“The crazy one?”

“Yeah, that one,” Petra laughed, oblivious to the look of defeat creeping into your eyes. “They’re always together. Can never tell if their together, together though...oh…”

You heard Petra realize what she was saying, “It’s fine. Wasn’t gonna hunt him down and ask for a date or anything.”

“But...I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything without knowing for sure.”

The rest of breakfast went by in comfortable silence until Petra had to hurriedly pack up her books and leave for class. 

Four hours later, you headed for the bus stop to check in on the cafe, noticing there was significantly less traffic. _This flu thing really has people scared..._

Pushing open the front door of the cafe, you waved at Marco and Christa as you went into the back, noticing the newest barista clocking out. As you waited for the computer to startup, you heard the unmistakable sound of crumbling metal. Walking quickly to the front of the cafe, you already had the phone to your ear to call for paramedics. 

The three baristas were frozen in shock as you walked around the counter, staring blankly out the large glass windows. You stopped mid-step in annoyance as your phone dropped the call. When you went to redial you growled as the screen showed ‘no signal’. 

“Seriously! Marco, grab the landline and call for paramedics. Cell signal is gone.”

You walked out amongst the crowd, pushing through the throng of people to the car wreck not fifteen feet from the cafe’s front doors. Before even had time to process how many were injured, a sudden scream from further down the street broke the strange, tense silence. Everyone turned to look towards the sound, watching as a man stumbled along the street drunk. 

A moment later, more people began to scream as the drunkard got closer. The crowd parted before him as he walked, until you finally got a good look at him. You scanned him up and down, stomach churning as you noticed the missing arm and broken leg; surprisingly, the man still walked on the leg, despite the bone sticking out from the flesh. 

As he continued stumbling forward, he began reaching out to the people closest to him. At first everyone thought he was seeking help, until he finally closed one hand around a man’s hand...and promptly sunk his teeth into the man’s forearm.

The screaming returned, and this time everyone started running. The two men feel to the ground as you watched, the first turning his appetite onto the man’s shoulder. As blood covered the sidewalk and dripped onto the street, you looked passed the two men and saw another dozen or so walking towards with the same shambling gait. 

Without waiting to see if they were the same as the first, you ran into the cafe, “Marco, Christa! Cafe’s closed. I want both of you to go straight home and lock your doors.”

“Has something happened?” Christa asked, worry clear in her voice and eyes.

“I’m not sure...but something’s not right. Now go home.”

They hesitated a moment longer before grabbing their things from the staff lockers in the back and running out the door. You tried to call Petra to tell her to get home too, but the phones were still down. 

Glancing at the figures slowly moving down the street, you were shocked to see the man who was bitten walking with them. One suddenly turned its head as you walked behind the counter, then slowly turned to walk into the glass. Bloody hands and mouth pressed against the glass, their action causing even more to start doing the same thing. As more gathered, they started getting closer to the door. That’s when you realized the doors opened inwards, one small push and they opened…. and you hadn’t locked them.

_Shit...I have to find Petra._

Ignoring the things outside, you left through the back doors just as the sound of the front door opening reached your ears. Running through the alley, away from the figures, you could only hope they had all passed the alley’s opening and that none of them were following you. As you left the alley behind, you could only hope that the streets between you and Sina University were free of those things as you watched a teenager spray red paint onto the walls of an apartment building: “Day Zero”


	2. Day One

The streets cleared as you ran, the people oblivious to the chaos a few blocks away from the idyllic city center. A part of your mind demanded that you slow down, that you warn people of what was headed this way, but you knew no one would listen. You could already see the looks of pity and fear they would cast your way thinking you were hallucinating from drugs or worse. No one would believe you were sane. 

So you ran, ignoring them, ignoring the fate you knew many would soon meet. You ran to the university campus, straight to the nursing building’s student lounge where Petra was guaranteed to be studying. But when you walked around the corner you came face to face with a deserted room. 

_No...where...where…_

As you frantically looked around the room for some sign of where to go next a voice behind you asked, “what are you doing here? All...”

Spinning around to face the man you stared wide-eyed, “Petra...I’m looking for Petra Ral.”

“She a student in this department?” He paused long enough for you to nod, “upper level?” Another nod and the man began to look grim, “All upper level nursing students were sent to assist with a medical emergency in the hospitals around the city. No telling which one she was sent to.”

Shoulders sagging, you thanked the man quietly and slowly walked back towards the main doors. You stopped in the sun to consider your options, nine hospitals scattered across Mitras. And no way of knowing where those things had spread to...making it too risky to run around town. With no other choice, you decided to go back to your apartment, knowing that Petra would probably be safe enough within a hospital’s walls and that she’d come back eventually. 

Every step made you nervous, just waiting for one of ‘them’ to reach for you at any second. You cautiously peeked around every corner to check that nothing was around, drawing more than a few awkward glances. Eventually, the sign for Scout Apartments came into view, your body immediately releasing pent up tension as relief flooded your mind. 

_Nothing too close to home...good. Maybe it’s not as bad as I thought. Maybe it’s already been contained._

Relief disappeared as you left the stairwell to find Marco sitting on the floor across from your door. The right side of his head and chest was covered in blood as he sat with his arms wrapped around his knees, chin resting on his forearms as he stared at the door.

“Marco?”

His head swiveled to face you, eyes widening as he smiled, “I thought something happened to you...you weren’t here…”

“I had to try to find Petra...what are you doing here? You should be at home.”

“I couldn’t. There were people eating people near my house. I didn’t know where to go, but I remembered Petra inviting me over for her birthday last year, so I came here.”

You nodded once, head barely lowering in acknowledgement, you went to unlock the door, “it’s fine. Do you have anyone waiting on you at home? We can try--”

The sound of a choked sob made the words die in your throat as you turned to see Marco covering his mouth with one hand, tears running down his cheeks. He sat motionless for a minute, sobbing quietly, as you tried to decide what to do. 

Kneeling beside him, you gently pulled him forward to rest his forehead on your shoulder. Wrapping your arms around him in silent comfort, he began to cry more freely, his hands clenching at the back of your shirt in anguish. 

You sat like that for several minutes, just letting him cry, knowing that whoever should have been waiting for him was no longer there. After what seemed like a half hour, Marco finally appeared to run out of tears as he slowly pulled away, wiping his eyes on his sleeve.

“I’m sorry...my mom...I saw her...ea--” his words sounded strangled, as if the very idea of forcing them out would break him all over again.

“Shh...it’s okay. You don’t have to,” you pulled the boy forward again, hugging tightly until he began to relax. 

You kept your arms around him as you stood, pulling him up with you, and then began to guide him to the door where the keys still waited half turned in the lock. Opening the door, you gently pushed him forward, letting the door fall shut as you led him to the couch. Once he was seated, you looked at him closer, noting the vacant eyes, the still bleeding wound on his head, and the ragged breathing.

In the kitchen, you made a cup of tea as quietly as possible. Once it was finished steeping, you grabbed the first aid kit from the bathroom, silently thanking Petra for insisting on keeping one in the first place, and walked back to the brunette. 

He hadn’t seemed to move, and jumped slightly as you stepped in front of him. Setting the kit on the table, you grabbed his hand and wrapped it around the mug, before sitting on the table’s edge to clean his wound.

“How did this happen?” 

He sat a moment, staring blankly into the tea as he finally answered, “got tripped up by some guy sleeping on the ground.”

You nodded, not commenting on the likelihood of the “sleeping” guy actually being dead. Instead you just cleaned the blood away as gently as you could, then put antiseptic on a gauze pad to disinfect it just in case...because that seemed like something Petra would have done if she was here. Afterward, you carefully taped a clean square of gauze over the wound, feeling slightly better at the surprisingly small wound that the cleaning had revealed. 

Neither of you moved for several minutes...Marco too lost in thought and you unsure of what to say. So you waited...waited for Petra to return...waited for something, anything, to happen. Eventually, you sat on the other side of the couch, choosing to remain silent so as not to disturb the boy’s grief.

Several hours later you were still waiting for the blonde roommate after the world beyond the windows had long since disappeared into darkness. _Surely, she’d be home by now...they can’t expect a student nurse to work this long, can they?_

Glancing at Marco, you found him slumped over onto the armrest fast asleep. Grinning sadly, you stood, stretching to work out the kinks of sitting still for too long, then went to the hallway closet to get a spare blanket and drape it over Marco. 

Deciding that sitting around waiting would do no one any good, you forced yourself to go to bed, certain that Petra would come back soon and you could demand answers in the morning.

 

Sunlight and the shower running woke you. Looking to the clock on the table, you were surprised to find it already passed ten...several hours after when you would have normally gotten out of bed. So soon after waking, you thought Petra was in the shower, but after changing into a pair of loose jeans and a t-shirt you stepped out into the hall to be met with a tall brunette with wet hair and a towel wrapped around his waist. 

Marco blushed as you stared, confusion filling your eyes as you tried to think of a reason why Marco of all people would be in your shower...in your apartment. Then, you remembered yesterday and the death filling the streets one block at a time. Blinking away the fog in your mind, you tore your eyes from Marco and headed into the kitchen to make coffee. 

As the sound of coffee dripping into the carafe met your ears, you realized Petra wasn’t in the living room so you went to her bedroom. Not wanting to risk waking her, you slowly turned the doorknob and cracked the door open just enough to see her bed...and that it hadn’t been slept in.

Swinging the door open further, you looked at the bed, willing Petra to materialize immediately. Unfortunately, nothing happened, so you were forced to accept that the blonde hadn’t been home yet. 

_Oh God...don’t tell me she got caught on her way home…_

Leaving the empty bedroom, you quickly grabbed your shoes, pausing only long enough to tug them on and push the laces into the sides. Marco looked worried as you walked into the living room, clearly planning on leaving as you unlocked the door. 

“I’m going to get Petra. Stay here and keep the door locked.”

Marco sat frozen, but as you reached out to the knob, the door swung forward, slamming into your hand painfully. Jerking back, your hand flailed in the air in a vain attempt at flinging the pain away. Petra stood in the doorframe looking shocked.

“I’m so sorry, (f/n)! Are you alright?”

“Ye--nevermind that,” you swung around to face her angrily, “why are you just getting home!”

Petra had the nerve to chuckle, “There were people coming into the hospital non-stop. I couldn’t just leave...why is Marco here?”

“Huh? Oh...uhh...do you not know what happened?”

Petra sat her backpack on the floor by the door as she tossed her keys onto the table. Yawning, she walked over to join Marco in the living room, you trailing behind like a puppy.

“They just said we needed to treat the injured. No reason to worry about why they were hurt, we just needed to know how badly it was. Why?”

 

You and Marco stared at each other for a minute, Petra growing nervous at the exchange. Finally, Marco spoke, “People in the city have gone crazy. There’s a group eating people.”

“What? You’re kidding...why would they do that?”

“No idea. But I think it’s some kind of virus or something,” Marco clearly wanted to stop there, but at Petra’s questioning eyes, he continued, “my mom is one of them now.”

“Oh my God. No one said anything about a virus or anything. They said everyone was hurt…” Petra paused, her eyes widening slightly, “I thought some of the wounds looked like bites. But the doctors said I was mistaken. You think they were all bitten by someone?”

You shrugged, unwilling to provide an answer either way. The three of you were quiet a minute when you realized that if Petra was treating the bitten all night and there might even be a chance of bites making them cannibals... 

“You weren’t bitten, were you?”

The blonde smiled, “No, don’t worry. No one even tried to bite me.”

Sighing in relief the room fell silent again...until an explosion shook the apartment. A few seconds later, several more explosions rocked the apartment...and then the screaming and gunfire started.

Shoulders crammed together in front of the narrow window, you stood between Marco and Petra watching thick black columns of smoke rise lazily into the air. On the street below, people were walking along the cement, their clothing stained and torn. They occasionally looked towards the sound of the gunfire, but then someone would scream somewhere and they would keep walking.

It wasn’t until a woman walked out of her house across the street that you realized what was happening. As she stepped down onto the stair, the door shut behind her at the same time several of the people walking turned to her. Three stepped towards her, their arms slowing raising to reach for her. She looked at them for a moment, mouth dropping open before she turned to tug at the door. Before it could open, the three figures were on her, ripping through the fabric and flesh. Blood stained her dress as they continued pulling at anything they could reach, the pained screams calling more and more towards her. 

No one in your apartment breathed as you were unable to stop watching the nameless woman get torn apart. Soon, a bloody corpse with missing limbs was all that remained as the figures began to limp away to catch up with the rest of the group.

Petra finally looked at you, her brown eyes about to overflow, “(f/n)...what do we do?”

Tugging the girl into an embrace, you held her as she tried to contain the tears, Marco seeming no different as he stood with a hand covering his mouth. A minute later, Marco gasped, pointing out the window; following the gesture, you found the woman dragging herself upright.

“That’s...she’s been gutted! Those monsters torn her apart...how is she?”

Silence was the only logical answer as reality showed the impossible.


	3. Day Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally meet some new people! But it's not exactly well-timed....sorry for the cliff-hanger! But feel free to let me know what you think of the chapter and/or what you think/fear/hope will happen next!!

Apartment 217 had remained safe and comfortable for the last five days. Although the three of you had decided to avoid the windows after watching seven other people get torn apart on the streets...only for each one to stand several minutes later. The others living in the complex either never came home or decided to flee the city as soon as the dead cleared the area. 

Marco was too nervous to leave when the others did, so you and Petra had agreed to stay as well. Petra had convinced you to wait it out as the military had to respond to a disaster like this. She insisted it was only a matter of time before the army came marching down the streets to pull survivors to a safe zone.

It was now day six of camping in the apartment and still no signs of military response. You were beginning to doubt Petra’s certainty.

And things kept getting worse as you woke at dawn. Walking into the living room like any other day, you grabbed the remote and pushed the power button. Nothing happened even after seven more tries. Thinking the batteries had died, you went to the kitchen and tried to turn on the undercabinet lights. Nothing happened.

Glancing around, you finally noticed the digital clock had gone blank and the small lights Petra had plugged into various outlets along the hallways were off as well. You sighed just as Marco walked sleepily into the kitchen with Petra a few steps behind him. They both raised a brow as they saw you leaning heavily onto the counter.

“Power’s off guys...it’s gonna be a long, quiet wait for whatever military you still think is coming.”

“What if they don’t show? What do we do then?” Marco stared at you, his eyes reflecting the fear he tried to keep out of his voice. You could tell he blamed himself for staying here when you had wanted to leave the city. 

“Where would we go?” You turned to Petra as she walked up behind Marco, “I know I’m the one that kept saying to wait, but...I’m starting to think you were right (f/n). We should have left. I’m sorry.”

You looked at Petra, noticing how she seemed anxious, as if you would get angry at her for something. Before you could answer though, you heard something run into the door, the wood shaking within the frame. A second later it happened again, the heavy thud of something slamming into the door unmistakable. 

Glancing at the others, you realized no one was breathing, frozen in fear of what may be on the other side. Silently, all three bodies slowly crept away from the door. Still tense, you all watched the door, waiting for signs that it would give in. A few minutes later, the collisions stopped, but you were left listening to the faint sound of scratching instead as nails clawed at the wood. 

Petra and Marco stood to the side staring wide-eyed at you, eyes occasionally shifting to the door and back anxiously. Just as you were about to find something to use as a weapon, eyes settling on the drawer where you kept the kitchen knives, the scratching stopped.

Low growling echoed off the hallway walls along with the sound of shuffling footsteps. A moment later, the growl reached a fever pitch as heavier footsteps sounded, growing louder as they approached the door. Suddenly, there was a grunt and an oddly wet sounding thud at the same time the growls stopped. Before anyone could move, you heard the second set of footsteps and then the voices.

“The hell man? I thought we agreed to just avoid these things?”

“It was trying to get inside...they don’t do that unless they heard something.” 

The voices got quieter a moment, then quietly angry as the two men argued over something, then finally someone sighed in defeat.

The first voice spoke again, this time louder, “Hey...you in there?” They paused a moment, you just looked at your friends and pushed your index finger to your lips, “Listen. We don’t want to hurt you...but, um...we don’t want to scare you either, but...we need your help to get out of here.”

“So uh…” the second voice sounded nervous, “if you’re in there...and you know, not dead. We really need you to open the door.”

Marco leaned over and whispered, “maybe we should open it?”

You glanced to Petra, who just nodded. Both looked to you, waiting on you to make the final decision. Sighing, you slowly approached the door and tried to make your voice sound threatening as you stopped a foot from the door, “Give me one good reason to open this door.”

The two men were quiet a moment, then the nervous one spoke again, “We ah...need your help getting out of here. And...if this thing found you...then you definitely don’t want to ah...wait until the rest find you.”

“The rest of what?” Your turned quickly to stare at Petra as she walked up beside you. She ignored your glare though, “What are they?”

Before they could answer, you heard them gasp, followed by the sound of moans and more shuffling feet. This time...even you knew there were too many coming.

“I don’t mean to rush you...but I really need you to open the door. Like now.”

You narrowed your eyes at the demanding tone, but Petra was already pulling the door open. Two men, about your age, stumbled inside quickly; they shut the door and leaned against it for a moment, before looking around the room. 

Watching their eyes, you noticed they were looking at the furniture. The brunette stepped passed you and carefully lifted the coffee table. He carried it back to the door and wedged it on its side diagonally across the door, obviously hoping to reinforce the entrance.

Satisfied for now, they both exhaled and turned to properly look at you and Petra. They were both filthy, covered in dirt and dried blood. The brunette’s messy hair had sticks and patches of dried mud in it, but he managed a grateful smile as he stepped further into the room, green eyes scanning your friends. The other guy had blonde hair on top with brown on the undercut. His brown eyes were staring between you and Petra, trying to look friendly as he stood with a bloody knife in one hand.

Petra glanced down at the knife, but forced a smile as she opened her mouth to speak. The two-tone haired guy though just raised his hand, knife still gripped tightly within it. His index finger straightened to tap his lip as he looked over to his companion. The brunette just stood there, waiting silently, then tensed as the door rattled again. 

With a sigh, the two men stepped forward and went to the windows. The brunette spoke again, “I know this is sudden, but we need to leave. We came in last night to get some sleep and supplies, but they followed us here. The front of the building in blocked with them...looks like this side is clear though.”

The other man joined him and pushed the window open. You could smell the smoke and rotting flesh on the air as the man leaned out to look around.

“Yeah...looks clear. We can jump and make a run for the street to the left. Can’t see anything walking around so it’s our best bet.”

“Umm…” everyone turned to Marco as he stood nervously off to the side. “We’re jumping out the window?”

“Unless you want to be eaten pretty soon...yes.”

You glared at brown eyes, “not helping.” Turning to look at your friends, you spoke more gently, “Marco, grab Petra’s bag by the door and fill it with whatever food is left in the kitchen. Petra, grab my bag and get whatever other supplies we’ll need...we leave in five minutes.”

Five minutes turned into three when the table barricade fell and everyone tensed as the door began to pull away at the hinges. The brunette threw everyone’s bags to the ground and then sat on the windowsill. Swinging his legs off the side, he gripped the edge tight and lowered himself down before letting go to drop to the grass. The other guy followed suit a minute later.

Sighing, you waved Marco over. You held onto him as he got into position and didn’t let go until he was ready to drop, the two-toned guy below actually waiting to help break his fall. Once he was up, you did the same for Petra. Just as you turned to lean over the sill, legs dangling over empty space, the door came off the hinges.

You watched as around twenty former humans stumbled into the apartment. They were all covered in blood and dirt as they made their way to you. The groans filled your ears, drowning out the sound of Petra calling your name below. Just as two of them reached the window, you quickly lowered yourself. 

Hands touched yours, nails digging into the flesh to try to pull you back, as your arms straightened. No longer caring about the distance, you let go of the wall still partially raised up. You landed with more force than expected, Marco grunting as you collided into his chest, forcing you both to fall to the ground, lungs emptying from the impact.

The two strangers were there a moment later, hands reaching out to pull you and Marco to your feet again. Before you could even think to thank them, a body landed face first on the ground in front of you. One of the things from the apartment deciding to follow you to the ground floor. 

Petra screamed as it landed with the bone of one arm ripping free from the flesh. The nameless brunette pulled you away as the thing started crawling toward Petra. Your little group started running, letting the new guys lead you away from the monsters filling, and falling from, the window. 

Ten minutes later, they finally stopped. Panting raggedly, everyone leaned over silently. A moment later, the brunette chuckled.

Looking up, he was smiling at you as he spoke between pants “by the way...nice to meet you...I’m Eren...this Horse-face.”

The other man glared at Eren and sighed, “Jean.”

They glared at each other a moment longer, then both started laughing. 

You stared a minute in confusion before shaking your head, “I’m (f/n), this is Petra and Marco,” you pointed at each friend in turn and they nodded.

“So um...do either of you guys know what those things are?”

Jean looked at Marco, “not really. We know they’re dead, but that’s it.”

“Dead?” Petra looked between them in confusion.

“Yep,” Eren spoke, an oddly happy tone to his voice, “only way to keep them down is to destroy the brain. Nasty bastards like to group up into herds too.”

“They follow sounds and movement, so it’s pretty rare to find just one or two.” Jean looked around the street, then started rubbing the back of his neck, “So, I’m guessing you know your way around here? You’ll have to play guide...we’re from Trost.”

“Trost? Isn’t that, like, sixty miles away?”

Jean looked at Marco with a wary smile, “yeah. We were with a group there, but when the city fell, we got split up. Trost is gone...looks like this place is too.”

Petra once again, turned to you, her eyes pleading, “So where the hell do we go?”

Shrugging, you were forced to depend on Jean and Eren for guidance since they knew more about traveling with these monsters than you. Your group stood in the street waiting for the two guys to figure out where to go next, as you occasionally answered questions. 

No one noticed the small figure walking closer.

By the time anyone heard the groan, it was mere inches away. 

Eyes widened as everyone turned to look at the source of the noise, heads falling down in surprise at the young boy, no more than nine, who staggered across the pavement. You inhaled sharply, trying to grab Marco and Petra to pull them away as Eren and Jean both raised their weapons, but the hands had already closed around Petra’s arm, jaws opening wide as its teeth moved for the flesh.


	4. Day Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, not sorry

Petra screamed again as the boy continued pulling her arm towards its mouth. Jean and Eren both fired their guns, bullets tearing through the kid’s skull, just as the teeth sunk into tender flesh. The blonde stared in terror as the boy’s body fell to the concrete, a bit of skin stuck in its teeth. 

You grabbed the bottom of your shirt, quickly tearing the thin cloth into a long strip before pushing Petra’s hand away from the wound. Only as you tied the makeshift bandage did you notice Marco’s pleading voice. 

Turning, you saw the freckled brunette trying to calm Jean down as he pointed his gun right at Petra, “....you have to help her!”

“Move...there’s nothing to do. Just move dammit,” Jean spoke through gritted teeth.

Eren watched blankly, eyes eventually glancing at you, “Sorry, (f/n), but he’s right. She’s already dead.”

“What the hell are you talking about? Does she look dead to you?!”

“She’s bitten. That’s a death sentence, there’s noth--” Eren froze, eyes shifting to something behind Petra.

Jean must have noticed at the same time as he dropped his arm, “time to go.”

The unmistakable groaning reached your ears a moment later, the sound causing a chill to seep into your blood. Grabbing Marco and Petra, you dragged them behind you while following the two guys at a breakneck speed. They didn’t slow until reaching a small residential neighborhood at the outskirts of the city. Waving you to stop on the street, they walked up to the porch and kicked the door. 

Nerves make you fidget as they waited silently, your eyes looking up and down the street anxiously. Movement caught your eye, two figures limping across a small expanse of bright green yard. 

“Marco, what are Jean and Eren doing right now?”

“Umm...looking through the windows. Looks like Jean is going to…” he stopped as the window shattered, glass shards striking the porch. 

The sound made you tense, eyes still locked on the figures in the yard as the noise reached them. Pushing Marco and Petra towards the house, you walked backwards as the dead turned in your direction and began moving closer. 

As you climbed the stairs up to the door, you heard Jean grumble about always being the one to climb through windows. A moment later, your shoulder bumped Eren’s, making the boy turn to see you watching something. Once he spotted the things too, he told Jean to shut up and get them inside already. 

A minute later, the door finally unlocked as the figures stepped through a broken section of fencing and onto the yard. Any doubts you had about them being dead or alive was shattered as they got close enough to see the empty, glazed, dull eyes that stared back at you before Eren pulled you inside. 

He slammed the door as Jean and Marco moved a tall bookcase in front of the broken window. Petra stood unmoving in the middle of the living room amid the discarded electronics and overturned furniture. Marco joined her, speaking quietly as if trying to put Petra to sleep.

Eren sighed, “they’ll leave once they think we’re gone. Just gotta be quiet for awhile, they lose interest eventually.”

“You sure?” Tilting your head, you watched the door as the dead starting pawing at the wood and groaning. 

“You never really get used to it,” Eren was watching you, his voice low with an edge of defeat, “the groans...haunting, isn’t it?”

“...yeah,” leaving him at the door you joined Marco and Petra. One glance and you knew she was lost in her head, “Petra?”

Slowly, her eyes turned to face you, expression remaining blank. 

“Pet...you’re worrying me, Pet. I really need you to snap out of it.”

She blinked, finally turning her head to look at you as well, “(f/n)...the bleeding won’t stop.”

Looking at her arm, you saw the bandage soaked solid crimson as blood ran down her fingers to gather in a small pool at her feet. “Oh my God, Petra.”

Grabbing her , you wrapped your hands around her arm and put pressure on the wound, ignoring how much your arms were shaking. Jean and Eren moved to the side, dragging Marco with them. You could hear their voices, but the fog of fear kept the words from registering. 

So focused on getting the bleeding to stop, you failed to notice the moment that Petra’s eyes glazed over, her breathing going ragged. The voices got louder, but the sound still didn’t make sense, even when Marco’s voice joined the chorus. As the blood seeping between your fingers began to slow, Petra stepped forward. You stood between the guns and Petra as the girl wrapped her free arm around your shoulders, her forehead pressing into your neck as she leaned into you.

Suddenly, Eren’s voice broke through the fog, “(f/n)! Get away!”

Brow quirking in confusion at the angry tone, you pulled away from the girl, turning to glance behind you. Before seeing the guys, your brain sensed the wrongness radiating from Petra. Eyes shifting back to your long-time friend, you were meet with dead eyes and wide-open jaws moving to clamp down onto your shoulder.

Gasping, you pushed back, tripping on the clutter behind your feet. As you fell onto your back, Petra followed you down, jaws still open, eyes locked on your shoulder and neck. With wide, fear stricken eyes, you watched as what had been your friend and roommate tried to bite you. A second later, just before the teeth grazed your skin, blood splattered your face.

The gunfire registered a split second after the bullet took Petra through the temple, blood coating the floor to your left as it ripped free of her head. Her body dropped on top of you as you stared at the ceiling. 

Marco fell to her side a minute later. Tear-filled brown eyes watched in horror as Petra bled onto your neck and the carpet beneath you. Vision blurring, you gently sat up, cradling the once vibrant woman to your chest. Nobody moved well into the night as you and Marco struggled to keep your sobs quiet enough not to attract attention to the abandoned house. Eventually, you leaned forward, setting Petra’s now cold body on the ground. Standing, you walked over to a window on the other side of the door and stared out onto the street. 

Footsteps approached, but you simply continued watching and spoke without caring which person was behind you, “Get some rest...I’ll take watch.”

Three bodies turned to face you at the sound of your voice, all three shivering at the cold, empty, dead tone that broke the silence. No one spoke, but eventually they moved away. Marco pulled a blanket from the overturned couch and placed it carefully over Petra’s body, mumbling a quiet prayer as he did. Then, the three men walked away to find places to sleep, leaving you to mourn as you stood in front of the glass, watching the emotion bleed out of your reflection’s eyes.

Your mind was clear...replaying that moment you saw Petra disappear behind the monster she had become. Your muscles tensed as evening bled to night and hours later, a blood red sunrise slowly crept above the horizon. The world was bathed in gentle red as Eren and Marco woke. They looked at you, but said nothing as they rummaged through the kitchen for food.

When Jean woke, you jumped at the sound of crash Closing your eyes, you let out a deep sigh, and slowly turned away from the bright sunlit window. Marco seemed surprised to see you as the other two boys turned worried eyes your way. 

Worry turned to shocked panic as you smiled, “did you guys figure out where we’re going yet?”

“Umm,” Eren cocked his head slightly, “not yet.”

Nodding, you leaned against the counter beside Jean, “which direction were you going?”

They didn’t answer, instead they looked between you and Marco. 

The freckled boy shrugged, before speaking quietly, “can we bury Petra before deciding?”

You looked at Marco, your own head tilting to the side now, “who?”


	5. Ch. 5 Day Eight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry....

Three pairs of eyes stared in horror as you just smiled in confusion. No one spoke as they began to glance between each other, trying to figure out how to react...how to explain. After a few minutes of silence, you began to fidget, eyes casting from one person to the next. When you reached one arm up to scratch your neck, the stiffness of your shirt made you look down.

The rusty brown coating the material had your brows scrunching in confusion. Pinching a bit between your fingers, you rubbed the cloth together, the brown cracking from the movement. Still unsure what it was, you were surprised to find your vision blurring suddenly. Blinking rapidly, you jumped slightly when tears ran down your cheeks. With the cloth still between your fingers, your other hand crept up to wipe across the wet skin. Looking at your tear streaked fingertip, the memories came flooding back. 

A blonde girl with a bright smile waving happily. Warm amber eyes half shut in drunken sleep. Arms holding out a gift that had held the very shirt you were wearing. That once bright smile turned to panicked shock as teeth bite into soft flesh. Those once warm eyes glazed over, dead. Those same arms locked around your neck as wide open jaws stretched out, reaching for your throat. The sound of the gunshot echoed through your head, fingers jerking in response to the memory. Blood running down a face you once knew so well as the body slowly cooled across your chest. 

“Oh God,” your voice was hollow and strained as your stomach clenched, bile rising and threatening to spill passed your lips.

Dropping to your knees, you pressed your forehead to the cold tile, willing the memories to fade again as pain ripped through your chest. Marco was there a moment later, his arms wrapping around you tightly, offering silent comfort as he sniffled. Sobs wracked your body as tears fell freely, dripping off your jaw to create a growing wet stain on your jeans. 

The other two men quietly left the room, leaving you and Marco to your grief. That sadness was short lived, however, as a thud on the front door had you both tensing, breath catching in your throats at the same time. A second later, the thud sounded again, this time sounding distinctly like a foot kicking the door. Looking to Marco, you slowly pushed off the ground to peak into the living room, dragging your eyes passed the blood splattered couch to stare at the door. Another kick, strong enough to rattle the door, had Eren cautiously looking out the window through a small crack in the curtain. 

Releasing a breathy chuckle, Eren motioned for Jean to open the door, “Holy shit...didn’t think anyone heard us.”

Jean raised a brow, but quickly smiled when the open door revealed a tall blonde man with his back to the door, a rifle hanging lose at his side. The man glanced over his shoulder with bright blue eyes before whistling sharply. 

Ducking inside, the blonde sighed in relief as he scanned the room while Jean waited as two more men ran inside. Slamming the door closed, Jean locked it then nodded at the newcomers.

“Didn’t think we’d see you guys out here.”

“Good to see you still alive Kirstein,” the blonde turned to nod at Eren before his eyes settled on you. “And you are?”

Just as you opened your mouth, another voice cut in, “another brat we’ll have to keep alive. Who else would they be?”

Turning, you stared at the dark haired man to your right. Admittedly, he had an impressive stature, for someone so short. Narrowing your eyes, you looked back to the first man, deciding to ignore the other for the time being, “I’m (f/n) and this is Marco,” you added waving your friend over from where he stood out of sight.

“Great. Two brats we have to keep alive,” the dark haired one grumbled, rolling his eyes.

“Levi, that’s enough. I’m Erwin and this is Mike. You’ll have to forgive me for keeping introductions short, but we can’t stay long. There’s a horde heading this way. We leave in ten.”

Erwin headed into the kitchen, probably to check for food, while the other two headed in opposite directions to look for anything else useful. Glancing at Eren and Jean, you received only shrugs as answer to an unspoken question. Eren went to join Mike without a word as Jean walked over.

“They’re from our group. We radioed last night, but never got a response. Thought the signal was too weak otherwise I would have warned you they were coming to get us.”

“Us?” Marco asked nervously, a hint of surprise and barely suppressed hope in his voice.

“Yeah. Can’t exactly leave you out here. Especially not after we found you holed up clueless of what’s going on.”

“Clueless?” Leaning around Jean, you saw Levi standing with an armful of towels and shirts.

Rolling your eyes, you left Marco and Jean to explain as you went to find Erwin, at least he was friendly. 

You were wrong...kind of. Erwin was definitely friendlier, but not exactly friendly. He was terse, exact, unyielding, and demanding. Five minutes was more than enough time to learn that Erwin did not do easy, casual conversation. That he did not do idle talk for the sake of figuring out who the other was. He wanted answers to his questions, but gave no answers of his own now that the initial surprise of new faces had passed. But he was also clearly an improvement over Levi.

When Erwin called for everyone to clear out, Marco crept close, “Levi’s a jerk. I would love to see the two of you in the same room for three minutes.”

“Three minutes?”

“Yeah...cause I’m pretty sure that it would take two minutes for you guys to be at each other’s throats and no more than another minute for only one of you to walk out alive.”

Brow furrowing, you glanced at Marco as you followed Eren out the back door, “very funny.”

“Wasn’t meant to be,” Marco snickered. 

The group fell into line behind Erwin with Levi trailing at the back after Marco. No one spoke as he led the way down the road where the two zombies had come from yesterday. At the end of the block, Erwin went left, barely glancing at the top half of a zombie that drug itself from the alley onto the street three feet from your path. Three blocks later, he slowed as faint growling crept its way from an open door at the next house.

He waved for Jean and Mike to scout ahead, and you were a little upset that he didn’t make Levi go too. Instead, you were left standing in the middle of the street, listening to inhuman growls, with the raven at your side. He didn’t seem to be paying attention to you, but your skin crawled as if he was staring. 

A few tense minutes passed when something caught your eye. On the collar of the man’s blue dress shirt your eyes landed on a small A stitched in navy thread. Glancing up, you were met with Levi’s grey eyes and a knowing smirk. 

“About time, brat.”

“You...you’re that guy from…”

“Never did get to return your employee’s shirt.” Levi chuckled dryly before his eyes darted to the side. 

A second later, he was pulling a knife from a sheath at his hip while pushing his gun into your hands. He moved with the graceful expertise that comes with a lifetime of fights. Ducking the arms that tried to wrap around his shoulders, he pushed the thing forward while using his foot to pull its leg out from underneath it. It toppled over, nose crunching on the pavement, as Levi knelt to ram his knife into its skull. 

Pulling the blade free, he turned to scan the street before wiping the blood onto his jeans. As he reached out for his gun, Mike and Jean walked back to the group and gave the all clear. Erwin nodded and continued walking silently, knowing the rest of you would follow. Part of you wanted to keep Levi’s rifle, but you had to admit that as newcomers to the group, you and Marco would probably have to accept being at their mercy for now.

Levi, however, surprised you. Once he took the gun from you, he stopped to pull another knife from his boot. While it wasn’t a gun, that he trusted you enough to give you a weapon at all earned him a few points. Maybe he wasn’t a complete jerk after all. 

You were wrong...again. As you tucked the knife into the waistband of your jeans, he decided to ruin the sentiment, “I hate babysitting and if I’ll be damned if I’m going to risk my life just because you aren’t armed.”

Points lost...but you still thanked him all the same, since regardless of reasoning, he still chose to give you a knife to fight with. That was something at least.

Another block passed by as you thought, and this one revealed the horde Erwin had mentioned. Allowing your eyes to shift sideways, you watched as the dead crowded the street a block over, all focused on following the horde instead of looking around to see your group. Luck did not go so far though as to keep them all on the other street.

Forcing your eyes back to the path ahead, you were met with Marco’s back as he stood frozen on the street. Leaning around him, you saw a couple dozen dead heading your way. Jean, Eren, and Mike were already raising their guns when Erwin ordered them not to fire and bring the whole horde on their heads. Instead, he and Levi stepped forward with their knives as the other three switched weapons as well. They moved forward to meet the dead without a word, simple falling into a half circle, leaving you to watch Marco. 

Pushing the brunette’s back to the wall, you pulled Levi’s knife free and watched the others. All of them moved carefully, methodically. Bodies began to drop as they pushed forward, dark, dead blood seeping out onto the cement in puddles, painting the street in splatters of red as blood arched through the air as blades pulled free from rotting flesh. A few minutes later, nearly three dozen bodies lay in the road. Erwin slowed as the others finished off the last remaining handful. 

You waited a few seconds to make sure nothing was still alive and waiting for something to grab before you stepped further from the wall. As you reached back to pull Marco with you, he gasped and your hand wrapped around the wet, yielding flesh of a bloody, dead arm. 

Turning, you found a girl with a torn dress pulling Marco against her chest as teeth closed around the side of his neck. Marco screamed as the thing pulled back, blood running down its chin as swallowed the chunk of Marco’s neck it had torn free. The brunette stared wide-eyed as you jumped forward, blade sinking into the thing’s neck just as its teeth sunk into flesh again, tearing another scream from the boy. 

The girl fell just as another zombie grabbed Marco and bit into his other side. Ragged screams filled the streets as teeth grated on Marco’s collarbone. Before you could move to pull the knife free and try to kill the other, more dead arms appeared around Marco. 

The horde had finally noticed your presence in the neighborhood and followed Marco’s screams. Teeth sunk into flesh just as you yanked the blade free, but before you could step forward, more arms appeared around you. 

Levi and Erwin pulled you back away from the dead who had ignored Marco in favor of trying for you. The two men pulled as you fought to get free and try to help the boy. Somewhere you heard voices yelling, telling you to forget about him, that he was already dead.

You heard the words, but couldn’t follow them. You had to get to Marco before his screams stopped. If he stopped screaming, he was dead. Until then, you could save him. 

Finally, Erwin realized you weren’t listening and pushed his rifle into Levi’s hand as he wrapped his arms around your waist. Your feet left the ground and the world tilted as Erwin threw you over his shoulder. One arm went around the middle of your thighs as he began to run. Levi followed as you continued trying to fight free, but it was no use. Marco’s scream was suddenly cut short behind a wall of dead and you were left to stare as the horde all began to follow you.

Just as Erwin neared the corner, the crowd had spread out enough that your eyes landed on the bloody corpse that had been a close friend. You left Petra on the ground in that house after she had died. And now, you left Marco on the street. 

As the group rounded the corner, your eyes were still on Marco when you suddenly gagged. 

Before your view was cut off, you swore you seen him start to sit up.


End file.
